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by pull harder
Summary: Fuji leaves. Ryoma's depressed. Regulars are here to save the day! FujiRyo. Warning. Similar to my other story!


_**Home** _

_By: potatoes-r-us_

_Dedicated to YukimuraAme, since I couldn't send it in through e-mail, I figured I could just post it with dedications. FujiRyo! If you don't like, please turn back. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. I'm poor. Poor, poor me…_

**-o-o-o-**

As his lover's flight was being called, Ryoma couldn't help but doubt the lastingness of their relationship. Neither could he stop the flow of tears that threatened to fall from his eyes despite Fuji's efforts to comfort him.

When he heard that the older boy accepted a scholarship grant from a university in Paris, he was crushed, but had found it his obligation to be supportive. It was not the easiest decision, thus bringing him into a minor depression for a week. He was brought out of his trance by his two senpais—Momoshiro and Eiji—who incessantly tried to have a decent conversation with him and get equally decent responses. _Not_ answers ranging from yes to no.

So when the time came for Fuji's departure, it brought great surprise to most of the Tennis Club Regulars that Ryoma had come. However, it concerned them that the boy would not talk, so they found it best to leave, regardless of Eiji's protests and Momo's complaints that, "We're just getting to the good part!"

They left, one by one, making up excuses for going (however reluctantly), slowly giving the two some time to talk.

And then it was just Fuji and Ryoma.

An awkward silence enveloped them as they both struggled for something to say, each feeling that a simple goodbye would not be enough to reassure the other.

Ryoma was the first to talk. "F-Fuji-senpai…" His voice cracked slightly as unwanted tears started to flow freely, revealing some of the pain that he felt.

This brought an automatic reaction on Fuji's part. He closed the distance between them and embraced the younger boy. "Ryoma, no. Don't cry," he whispered soothingly. "We can get through this… I'll call you a lot and send you letters. It'll be like I were with you everyday." He had to be strong. He can't break there. Not while Ryoma was in so much pain. "Everything's going to be the same…"

At this, the younger boy shook his head. It was useless. Because he knew that however hard he tried to pretend that Fuji was there, his heart knew otherwise. He didn't want to turn his head in the middle of the day and expect Fuji to be there. No, that would hurt too much.

"**_Flight 214 now boarding,"_** a female voice announced through the crackling speakers.

"That's your flight," Ryoma said, wiping the tears from his eyes as he stepped away from the tensai. "You should go."

Fuji's expression held worry and… something else. But the younger boy countered it with one of his rare smiles. And that smile broke Fuji's heart, for he knew that Ryoma had not yet accepted the fact that he was leaving.

Finally placing a smile of his own, he opened his eyes, trapping his young lover's golden gaze. "I'll be back. I promise."

With those hopeful words, almost everything that Ryoma stood for shattered, as if it just occurred to him that Fuji really _was_ leaving and really _was_ deserting him. That the reality of Fuji living another life without him, and that he had absolutely no clue on how to start his own, had just crossed his mind.

Fuji walked off to the boarding gate, feeling his burdens getting heavier and heavier with every step. Risking one last glance behind him, his eyes met with Ryoma's blank gaze. It took every ounce of his will to stop himself from going back and staying beside the youth. His family had gone as far as buying him a plane ticket and sending Yumiko ahead to find him a nice apartment to live in so it would only be rude to back down from his decision.

Which is why he's burdened by the knowledge that it was his fault that he was leaving his friends and the person that became more than a friend. The person who brought a real smile to his face every time and again. The person who knew more about him than his own family did. The person who broke his heart once but mended it back together. The person he had slowly fallen in love with throughout the course of their junior high years. He _knew_ that he'd be coming back how could he let the other know that when, at the back of his mind, he himself was in doubt?

What if Ryoma had another lover by then? Or what if they wouldn't see each other the way they do now? Leaving was a lot worse than saying goodbye because when he said goodbye, Ryoma was only a little bit depressed, but now… he was even _crying_. He didn't want the younger boy to cry. And it definitely made things worse when he knew that he was the one who caused it.

Ryoma pushed past the gathering crowd, wishing against all other hopes, that Fuji would simply stay. What was even wrong with Japan? Why Paris?

When he had gotten outside, he was welcomed by the heavy rain beating down upon the pavement, rendering any form of protection useless, unless if a person was driving a car. He crossed the parking lot, ready for any sort of sickness to tackle him. He wanted to be away from the airport before the tears come again because he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop them the next time. Ryoma got into his car, started the engine and drove into the dimly lit streets, thinking about nothing other than how unfair life is.

Fuji was the person he had fallen in love with. Did he _really_ have to go? It didn't make sense at all.

So why…? That was the only question that ran across Ryoma's mind as the rain continued on its course.

Two months. For two whole months, Ryoma was torn between two worlds. His past with Fuji and his present without. The past's pull was so strong that, all of a sudden, nothing seemed to matter anymore.

He was in and out of school. Half the time, he was skipping classes, and the other half, he was at home, locked up in his room in a vain attempt to hide his sadness from the world.

And whatever time Ryoma spent in his classes, he did as if in limbo. He was just sitting there on his seat, staring at the world outside as the day breezes past.

Saying that his teammates were concerned was an understatement. So it just went without saying that they tried their hardest to get Ryoma to talk. And who better to talk to than Seigaku's mother hen?

Whispers went around as Ryoma entered the courts looking like he hadn't had a wink of sleep for days. Which was probably true.

Eiji gave the vice-captain an encouraging smile and the words, "Good luck, Oishi," before pushinghim to the general direction of the youngest Regular.

Oishi paused doubtfully for a moment before approaching the boy. "Uhm… Echizen… Is something the matter?"

Ryoma studied his shoes as if they were suddenly made up of gold. "No, Oishi-senpai." …Well, it couldn't hurt to tell Oishi, could it? "…Actually…yeah. I guess something _is_ bothering me…"

"Does it have anything to do with Fuji?"

Ryoma's head snapped up at the mention of the name.

Bingo.

Not far from the two were Eiji and Momo having a conversation of their own.

"We have to do something about ochibi…" Eiji murmured, blue eyes brimming with worry. "I-I've watched these things happen, Momo… I don't like that ochibi is having a problem so big… that he might not be able to handle it in the end…"

Momo nodded slowly. "I know, Eiji-senpai, but… what can we do?"

The next day, Ryoma wasn't in school. Momo had dropped by the younger boy's house first thing in the morning but Nanako had said that Ryoma was sick, so he asked her not to let the boy out no matter what happened.

Nanako had looked surprised and asked, "Why's that, Momoshiro-kun?"

"Uh… It's supposed to be a surprise," he answered with a grin and rode off.

That day, Momoshiro skipped school. Looking at things, Momo always skipped classes; English classes to be exact. But not once in his entire life had he played truant and skipped school in its entirety. He didn't mind, though. It was for the sake of the team and the good of Seigaku, as Eiji had so zealously put it. The Nationals were important, after all, and they still needed the little brat.

Kaidoh stayed in class, covering for Momoshiro's absence by taking down notes that he thought the spiky-haired boy would need. Not that Momo seemed to want any notes, as Kaidoh had found out when he flipped through the other boy's notebooks. They were all nearly empty aside from the occasional doodle of the teacher doing so and so.

Oishi did the same thing for Eiji. It seemed that the redhead was willing to risk life and limb for he skipped a few classes as well, though he was still well in the school vicinity. Eiji was on the rooftop, his ear stuck to the phone as he chatted with the person on the other line.

"What was that?... Oh… _What?_... Well, that was fast… Nah, it's okay… Really? I think Momo's on the way already… Uh… Who? Ochibi? H-he's doing fine… _Really_… Oh, by the way… thanks… for coming back, duh!..."

As luck would have it, Oishi was stuck with cleaning duties and couldn't arrive at practice on time so Inui took over… in his own way. Honestly, he wasn't Fuji. He wasn't _much_ of a sadist. If the club members would just realize the joys of drinking Inui juice—despite the color, taste and smell—then they'd have no problem at all.

Tezuka, however, was his same stoic self, counting how many laps he was going to give to the missing Regulars. Sure he was worried about Ryoma but that did not count as an excuse to be absent.

Later that night, Ryoma lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The corners of his lips twitched upwards every now and then into a nostalgic smile.

He was jolted back to reality when the phone rang. He brought it up to his ear and spoke, "Hello," in an annoyed manner.

"_Ochibi! Guess who I am!"_

Ryoma snorted. "As if I even have to guess, Eiji-senpai."

"_Fine, fine. Anyway, I just called to tell you not to fall asleep yet."_

"Wha-?"

"_Look out the window."_

He stood up and did as he was told. He saw the whole team—Tezuka included—outside, the hyper ones waving exaggeratedly and pointing to the door.

"_See you at the door, ochibi!"_

"Door? Why-?"

"_Beep. Beep. Beep."_

"Okaaay." Ryoma stretched a bit and headed out. When he got to the front door, he called behind him, "I'll just be outside!" He opened the door froze. His teammates were absolutely nowhere to be seen. In their place was a smiling, brown-haired boy carrying a bunch of flowers. "Syuusuke…?"

Fuji's smile faltered but remained on his face. "Well, I suppose that it's about time you called me by my name, ne?"

It didn't take long for the younger boy to start trembling with tears. "S-Syuusuke… it's really you, isn't it?"

Fuji approached him and held him in his arms. "Ryoma, don't cry. I'm back now. Everything's going to be fine… Please stop crying. I didn't…" He paused, mesmerized by the golden gaze that he had missed for so long.

Ryoma buried his face in Fuji's chest and murmured something so softly that not even Fuji could hear.

"What was that?"

The younger boy lifted his head for a moment to repeat his words. "…You didn't what?"

"Ah… I didn't want to leave," clarified the tensai. "I just had to do it for-"

"For your family," Ryoma finished for him, voice soft but clear. "I know." And he _did_ know. Family always comes first for everyone. "Is that all?"

Fuji smiled at him. "No. I was going to continue. Can I?"

"Shoot."

"And I'm never going to leave you again. Done."

Ryoma's eyes went wide, surprise written all over his face. "What about Paris? The university… Don't you have studies there?"

"Took care of it," Fuji chirped merrily. Who knows how he did what he claimed to have done? "Besides, I wanted to be with you."

Ryoma pulled away looking doubtful. "But…"

Fuji reached out to take Ryoma's hand into his. "Seriously. This is all I've ever wanted. I'd rather stay here with you than go back there alone."

"Really?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

"Nah. I heard."

-o-o-o-

"Ochibi's so cute!"

"Shh… Eiji, they'll hear us…"

"Way to go Echizen!"

"Psshhh… baka."

"There's a 75.9 percent chance that they'll kiss."

"K-kiss? …Uh… isn't that a bit private?"

"Hn…"

**-o-o-o-**

_So? What did you think? Hope you guys liked this! Feel free to point out any mistakes. You know, constructive criticism…_

_Review!_


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